ABOUT GREENHOUSE MINISTRIES
Since 1999, Greenhouse Ministries’ goal has been two fold. Our first goal is to move people out of their current situation of hopelessness and help them see their God given potential. Our second goal is to provide an outlet for people in our community to volunteer.
Executive Directors, Cliff and Jane Sharp, began serving Murfreesboro through their work in the Franklin Heights federal housing project, a 140-apartment complex built in the early 1950’s. The Sharps taught GED and computer classes to adults and provided childcare for their children. They also offered crafts and cooking classes and transportation to shopping centers, and built relationships of trust and support with the residents.
At Franklin Heights, the Sharps noticed a gap in services to single moms and the working poor. These groups struggled to meet the basic daily needs of their families but worked full-time and made too much money to qualify for any assistance from government programs. Even more than basic needs, Cliff and Jane saw a community with no hope. The Sharps started Greenhouse Ministries to serve those who were being overlooked and underserved and to show them hope.
Greenhouse Ministries has the goal to help, educate and connect every client who walks through the door. Starting with helping their clients, Greenhouse Ministries meets the physical needs of clients by serving food and giving out clothes, furniture, toiletries, bicycles and other basic necessities. Then, Greenhouse educates their clients by offering a variety of adult education classes including computer classes, GED tutoring, budgeting, sewing and literacy classes. The final goal of Greenhouse Ministries is to connect their clients. Greenhouse Ministries walks along side their clients with the end goal of taking them from a place of getting to a place of giving. Greenhouse Ministries connects their clients to other resources available in the community including job opportunities, housing availability and resources from other nonprofits.
Greenhouse Ministries serves everyone without qualification. The nonprofit does not ask income questions, nor does it base benefits on employment. The goal is to serve whoever walks through the doors with love and respect.
Although Greenhouse Ministries is a faith-based organization, its services are not dependent on the religious views of clients, nor does Greenhouse impose its own views on clients. Services are open to anyone regardless of race, color, sex, gender, sexual orientation, disability, age, veteran status, or national or ethnic origin.
All of these things are where the volunteers are needed. Greenhouse Ministries runs on over 400 volunteer hours a week and simply put, we cannot function without our volunteers. Volunteers do a variety of things ranging from: office work, clothes sorting, bicycle repair, decorating, counseling, teaching classes and food sorting. If you feel God is calling you to use your gifts to volunteer, please reach out to us!
Greenhouse Ministries moved from a facility of 5,000 square feet to a facility of over 11,000 square feet. Greenhouse is now in it’s 17th year of service to the community, and once again, we have outgrown ourselves!
Greenhouse won the bid on the lot across the street from their current back yard. Now, we need to pay the debt so we can move to phase two of our Expansion Program which is to purchase our existing building. Phase three of our Expansion Program is to construct a building on the new lot to contain all of our daily operation, along with some space for smaller agencies who serve our community. At that time, our current building will be used to expand The Garden Patch Thrift Shoppe and allow the warehouse space for larger classes, such as appliance repair, furniture repair, bike repair and refurbishing computers.
We are continuing to grow and it is only because of God’s great plan for us, and the support of many people who believe in that plan with us!